If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Welcome to CycloneFanatic.com. I notice you haven't taken the time to register yet, now is as good of time as any:)

When is to early to start recruiting kids?

I used to laugh at it when we offered 8th graders. I was always wondering how we could know when they were in 8th grade. Then something happened.
This 6 year old girl in my daughters class played basketball against the other girls in a little girl basketball camp at the elementary school. Well this girls dad is 6'6 inches tall and played on the Dallas Mavricks summer squad. Only played in Junior college. Never D1.
Now this 6 year old girl has every other girl by about 6 inches and can flat out light it up. She seriously is going to be a killer basketball player.
Now I am not joking on this. I obviously relize that 6 years old is light years away from being able to recruit a girl. However How old do you think a kid should be before a college coach says something to there parents or starts hinting at the recruiting process?

by the way this girl is waaay better at soccer than everyone also.

I did not think it was possible to see talent so young but with her dads height and pedigree I can see this little girl will be good.

O.K. make fun of me now.

Nobody but HB knows for sure. You pretty much know nothing....like Knownothing would like to say.

Re: When is to early to start recruiting kids?

It is way too early to be recruiting her, buttttttt it wouldn't hurt to give her a brochure to an iowa state women's basketball camp. That is what i have done. I have a girl i coach who is an out and out athlete with a nose for the ball and great instincts. The only thing is will she be tall enough.

Re: When is to early to start recruiting kids?

I would not bring it up if I did not think this girl was going to be a superstar. With her it all comes down to work ethic in my opinion. Not sure how a 6 year old can have work ethic at this point so I would assume they will figure that out later.

Nobody but HB knows for sure. You pretty much know nothing....like Knownothing would like to say.

Re: When is to early to start recruiting kids?

You can generally tell pretty early which kids have standout ability. You can't tell as much about long-term desire or drive.

If I remember correctly, recruiting starts at about 8th grade. Also, girls don't tend to grow much after puberty, while boys can still grow a little after that time.

All true. You can have a kid (boy or girl) who is taller than everybody else for a while, but it ends up that they just hit their growth spurt early. You end up with a kid who never learned guard skills (because they played post when young) but are too short to play post.

Now if a girl has good skills AND a 6'6" father who has dabbled in pro ball, she's a safer bet than most.

I'd agree that the top players probably start getting recruited in 8th grade (maybe even 7th for some, I suppose). Amanda Zimmerman gave ISU a verbal commitment before the start of her freshman year of high school.

Re: When is to early to start recruiting kids?

Originally Posted by mred

You end up with a kid who never learned guard skills (because they played post when young)

On the 4th grade squad I help coach we have a girl on my daughter's team who is a pure athlete. She's head and shoulders above her peers in every sport whether it was softball last summer, volleyball right now or basketball. Last season she was our starting center do to her height and jumping ability and sadly when we start practice next week once volleyball ends, she will be our post yet again.
Unfortunately its the nature of the beast, we need her in that position and she excels there, however height is not something that traditionally runs in her family, so either shes just ahead of her peers right now or a genetic freak. We'll find out in a few years.

Re: When is to early to start recruiting kids?

All true. You can have a kid (boy or girl) who is taller than everybody else for a while, but it ends up that they just hit their growth spurt early. You end up with a kid who never learned guard skills (because they played post when young) but are too short to play post.

You basically just described Bob Johnson. Mr. Basketball in the state of Iowa 1987. He played center at 6"5-6"6 inches tall. Then got to Iowa State and had no other skills besides center.

Nobody but HB knows for sure. You pretty much know nothing....like Knownothing would like to say.

Re: When is to early to start recruiting kids?

Originally Posted by Rage On

You can generally tell pretty early which kids have standout ability. You can't tell as much about long-term desire or drive.

How true. A friend had a kid who was a phenom at 12. Could play any sport he wanted, but concentrated on b'ball and soccer. Parents had him evaluated by a very experienced high school BB coach who guaranteed he was D1. He ended up being 6'-6" and smooth as silk, was all-conference in both sports - just never panned out because he was willing to slide on his ability and never really cared about excelling. Didn't play anything in college.

Re: When is to early to start recruiting kids?

8th grade...

Do you know what I was thinking about in 8th grade? I don't really, eihter, but it probably had more to do with checking out MTV and see how much flesh I could see. I'm sure my attention span with anything else wasn't more than a few minutes.

It definitely had nothing to do with long term commitment and what I would be doing 4-5 years in the future.

Re: When is to early to start recruiting kids?

Originally Posted by mred

All true. You can have a kid (boy or girl) who is taller than everybody else for a while, but it ends up that they just hit their growth spurt early. You end up with a kid who never learned guard skills (because they played post when young) but are too short to play post.

Now if a girl has good skills AND a 6'6" father who has dabbled in pro ball, she's a safer bet than most.

I'd agree that the top players probably start getting recruited in 8th grade (maybe even 7th for some, I suppose). Amanda Zimmerman gave ISU a verbal commitment before the start of her freshman year of high school.

The fathers genes do help, but genetic athletic/physical abilities come from the mothers side of the gene pool (not just one generation but many down the line) Dr. Viru (mostly bioenergetics), Dr. Balyi, Dr. Loke, Dr. Sikut, and Dr. Aule are all from the former USSR and it's satelites . These are some of the leading researchs in development of Russians youth sports master schools back in the day. Their finds and research will tell you that the mothers gene pool is were

Re: When is to early to start recruiting kids?

Originally Posted by C.John

On the 4th grade squad I help coach we have a girl on my daughter's team who is a pure athlete. She's head and shoulders above her peers in every sport whether it was softball last summer, volleyball right now or basketball. Last season she was our starting center do to her height and jumping ability and sadly when we start practice next week once volleyball ends, she will be our post yet again.
Unfortunately its the nature of the beast, we need her in that position and she excels there, however height is not something that traditionally runs in her family, so either shes just ahead of her peers right now or a genetic freak. We'll find out in a few years.

It is great that you are spending the time to work with these kids. Something to consider is if this girl is a good athlete to also allow her to play away from the basket in some sort of five out offense. Defensively she can still play there, but this would at least give her some exposure to facing the basket and handling the ball.

Re: When is to early to start recruiting kids?

Before birth is too early.

Seriously, if you live in central Iowa, I would not be at all surprised, if coach Fennelly knew about her, I would not be surprised if you could get her invited to a practice in Ames. If she does live in Central Iowa, get her to a game.

Re: When is to early to start recruiting kids?

My kids have been to many basketball camps (Mike Born, Future Stars, ISU mens, etc.). The camp run by the women's program at ISU is excellent, maybe the best in Iowa. It's a day camp (no overnight). I think Jodi Steyer runs it. The kids actually learn/practice fundamentals rather than just playing games and contests all day. I recommend it to all younger kids (boys and girls).

Re: When is to early to start recruiting kids?

Originally Posted by Rage On

The camp run by the women's program at ISU is excellent, maybe the best in Iowa. It's a day camp (no overnight). I think Jodi Steyer runs it.

Coach Steyer has been involved with the camps for a long time, even prior to coaching at ISU. She was an assistant at Toledo from 89-96 (all but the last season were under BF). Then she took a break from coaching to start a family, moved to Ames around 1998 when her husband Ed got a job in Des Moines, and started working with the ISU camps shortly after. Fennelly hired her as an ISU assistant in 2002 when Coach Kebe left.

To veer even more off-topic, it's amazing just how much coaching stability we've had after all the assistants kept getting jobs elsewhere earlier this decade. Coach Easley, hired in 2003, is still the "new" guy.

All content owned by CycloneFanatic.com - All rights reserved 2005-09. By viewing this website you agree to the Terms of Service, Site Rules and Legal Disclaimer. The words, views, images and opinions expressed or provided by users do not reflect the opinions or views of CycloneFanatic.com or Iowa State University. The names, words, symbols, and graphics representing Iowa State University are trademarks and copyrights of the University protected by the trademark and copyright laws of the United States of America and other countries and are used on this web site under license from the University. Original site design, premise & construction by Jeremy Lind.